Brassiere



Dec. 18, 1951 J. CONDE BRASSIERE Filed Sept. 11, 1948 Patented Dec. 18, 1951 UNITED s STATES PATENT OFFICE I "amass l 1 BR SS R JosenhGenda Y kiN-"Y- Application September 11, 1348, Serial No. 43,791

2 claims. (o1. rat-s42) plastic which is non-absorbent and impervious.

and will therefore not become contaminated by perspiration or body odors, which is ver-y'light,

and is firm and resilient so that itwill-"holdit's shape but is nevertheless sufiic'iently' yieldingto.

produce a'natural efiect if subjected to pressure. The plastic used; should be odorless, non-toxic and non-irritating to the skins 2-:

The breast forms of the present-invention filla two-fold purpose. They may be used as fillers for an ordinary fabric brassiere such as is com-' monly in use, or they may be secured to the body of the user by suitable ribbors or attaching de-'- vices so that'they form a'brassiere which may be. worn directly under the clothing without the usual fabric brassiere. They also may be used by being sewn into the clothing, as for example a bathingsuit, so as to give a proper breast appearance. V

In the accompanying drawing which shows certain preferred applications-of my nvention,

Figure 1 is a front elevation showing two of the breast forms united and used as}; brasslere;

Figure 2 is a view in front elevation'on a larger scale showing one of the forms and part of another form attached thereto.

V Figure 3 is a sectional view of one of theforms on line 3-3of Fig. 2;

Figure dis a similar view on lined-4 of FigL- 2;

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view' sho'wing two of the forms used as brassiere fillers in a conventional fabric brassiere;

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic front view illustrating a bathing suit with two forms secured therein, shown in dotted lines;

Figure 'l is a perspective view showing an attaching member by which two of the forms may be secured together to form a brassiere; and

Figure 8 is a perspective view of an attaching hook to which a ribbon may be attached when the forms are used to provide a brassiere.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the breast form or simulator illustrated comprises a hollow cup I!) of substantially non-absorbent, impervious, odorless and non-irritating plastic material which may be produced in any suitable manner, it being preferably injection molded to its finz, islied form. It can be formed in other ways as from a sheet of plastic, but molding it in final form is preferred, as sheet plastic is more likely to crack or lose its desired shape, and it may if pressed upon produce an objectionable crackling sound a properly molded form such results are avoided. 7 1 Any suitable plastic material possessing the characteristics indicatedmay be e'mployed At present I prefer to use a polyethylene type plastic such as-is employed for surgical uses, such as bone splints or reenforcements'l Plastics of this type have been demonstrated to be nontoxic and nondeteriorating' when in contact with the skin,*or even-when incorporated within the body.-

' The shapeofthe breast simulator is preferably symmetric aland conventional and it is undesirable to-att'empt to give the form the contourofa-n actual human breast, because breasts vary so much iii-size and shape. The'desired illusion of an attractive breast line can be produced by using a' convention'a-l form such asa substantially true hemisphere. The hemisphere may, if desired, be provided with a small-nipple-like projection 12, although thisis notin all cases-essential. One practical advantage in u'singa conventional symmetricals'hape fer the erm is that themanuiacture'oi the molds for makingtheform is thereby simplified, as they may be turned outmore easily than molds of complicated or irregular shape. Furthermore a large variety or models-is unnecessary. The cups are preferably formed of materialof uniform thickness throughout, although this is not in all cases essential.

.It'is-impor-tantto provide the form with a body seating flange [4- a'round the periphery of--the substantially hemisphericalportion; This flange should be quite narrow, perhaps arr-eighth of an inch in width, and rounded smoothly into the hemispherical part of the form. This flange enables the breast simulator to be worn directly against the skin of the wearer without cutting or causing discomfort or chafing. The flange also provides suitable means for attaching supporting ribbons or the like if the device is worn as a brassiere. For this purpose the flange I4 is provided with widened portions It at the sides, such widened portions having elongated slots 18 formed therethrough, to which the attaching members may be secured. The flanges may also be provided with groups of small holes 20 through which threads may be passed if it is desired to sew the form in a garment, such for example as a bathing suit as shown in Fig. 6.

The forms are preferably provided with ventirectilinear at least in up and down direction, as

illustrated in Fig. 4. If desired the base of the form may be curved slightly in a transverse direction, as shown in Fig. 3, so as to conformmore I easily to the curved contour of the chest.

Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate the invention when used as a brassiere. In this instance two of the breast cups are secured together by a link 30, which is preferably made of thin and somewhat resilient plastic, such link being shown in perspective in Fig. 7. The link 30 is preferably curved so as to render it slightly yielding and to cause it to tend to bend into the concavity between the breasts. A body encircling band or ribbon 32 is provided which may be secured to attaching hooks 34, as shown in Fig. 8. Such hooks have hooked portions engaging with the outer slots [8 and have slots 36 through which the ends of the band or ribbon 32 are passed. These hooks 34 are preferably made of thin plastic and maybe made wide at their outer ends as shown so as to make the slots 36 long enough to receive a wide ribbon.

The construction described provides an exceedingly light but effective brassiere which is selfsustaining and gives a very attractive breast line. It may be worn by women of very small or undeveloped breasts or by women whose breasts have been surgically removed. The forms being of light material are comfortable, and they can be made very attractive in appearance. They may be made of transparent plastic or may be of flesh color, or decorated in any desired manner, as by lace or floral designs. In some instances the forms may be colored to match the costume to be worn. The attaching link andhooks are preferably colored to match the forms. The forms being of impervious material do not absorb perspiration but may be readily cleaned by merely wiping off with a damp cloth.

If desired the forms, instead of being used as a complete brassire, may be used as brassire fillers as shown in Fig. 5 in which a conventional fabric brassiere 40 is shown with two of the cups placed therein. The forms may be simply slipped into-the brassire or they may be secured therein by sewing through the holes if desired.

= secured to said last named hooks.

It will be seen that the construction described provides for accomplishing the intended purpose in an efiective, sanitary and pleasing manner. The use of sponge rubber forms which are now commonly employed is thus avoided. Such forms of sponge rubber or other filler pads of absorbent material are obviously objectionable for sanitary reasons as well as being hot and uncomfortable.

While I have illustrated and described in detail preferred forms of my invention, it is to be understood-that changes maybe made therein and the invention embodied in other'structures.

I do not, therefore, desire to limit myself to the specific constructions illustrated, but intend to cover my invention broadly in whatever form its principle-may be embodied.

I claim:

'1. Abrea'st simulator comprising a self-sustaining .hollow cup of substantially impervious, non-absorbent, odorless; non-toxic plastic, said cup being of symmetrical, substantially hemispherical form, and having ventilatin perforations therein, the part of the cup adjacent to the apex thereof being imperforate, said cup having an integral flange extending entirely around the same and merging smoothly. into the inner surface of the cup, said flange having spaced openings therein for engagement with attaching means, .the body of the cup and the flange being of a uniform degree of stiffness.

2. Abrassiere including a pair of breast simulators each comprising a self-sustaining hollow cup of substantially impervious, non-absorbent plastic, said cups having ventilating perforations therein, the portions of said cups near the apices being imperforate, said cups having attaching flange portions, said cups and flange portions being integrallyformed of material of substantially uniform thickness and stiffness, said flange portions having elongated slots therein, a double ended plastic hook having a curved resilient body engaged with the slots nearest to each other in the two cups, plastic hooks engaged in the outer slots of the two cups and a body encircling ribbon JOSEPH CONDE'.

REFERENCES CITED I The following references are of record in the fileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

